Ego sent us one of their cordless electric 56V 21″ snow blowers earlier in the season. We then ordered a second one for added opinion.

So far, I’ve only used it on 3 occasions. I feel I need a little more time, but that’s enough experience for at least a mid-season review. End of season? Hopefully it’s the end of the season – I’m ready for warmer weather.

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What I’ve found is that this is a FANTASTIC machine.

I don’t think it’s quite capable of what a good gasoline-powered snow blower can do, but I really don’t like gas engine tools if a good electric or cordless alternative exists.

This Ego cordless snow blower? Yes, I would consider it to be a good alternative to a small-sized gas-engine snow blower.

We have a rather steep driveway with multiple angles. Towards the bottom, there’s a sort of steep hump. What I’ve found is that, in a lot of places, the Ego snow blower won’t clear the snow down to the asphalt – it’ll leave a thin but compacted layer that I then need to shovel out the best I could.

The Ego excels on level ground, but can handle the driveaway reasonably well.

It’s controllable when going downhill. Going uphill? I prefer to drag it back up and let gravity work for me and not against me.

The last deep snow was a challenge, with thick wet snow that clogged up the chute a few times. But that probably would have likely happened with similarly sized gas snow blower.

I feel that this is a good single stage cordless snow blower. It was easy to setup, it’s easy to use, and the battery system is wonderful. I have a second Ego charger, and so after a long clearing session I had both batteries charging at the same time.

The runtime is quite long – said to be 45 minutes on (2) 5.0Ah batteries. There’s also a 7.5Ah kit option.

If you need longer runtime, buy more batteries and a second charger. Or take the charger from another Ego outdoor power tool kit you might have previously purchased.

I really don’t have any complaints. Well… I wish that the snow blower could store vertically like their mowers, but it can be angled and wedged somewhere for storage. And I wish it went down to the asphalt, but that seems to be a problem with how our driveway is angled.

The machine performs admirably.

I’m hoping that Ego is working on a dual stage unit – I’d buy one on the spot, even if runtime was reduced. I know that SnowJoe offers a 2-stage cordless snow blower, $799 for the 2x 5.0Ah battery kit, but I’m sold on Ego’s platform.

21″ clearing width

Throws snow up to 35′

Variable speed auger control

Handle-mounted chute adjustment (works well)

Adjustable chute angle (controls are on the chute itself)

LED headlights

5-year limited warranty

Powered by brushless motors

Fold-down handle

Ego has a proven track record of not only capable outdoor power tools, but exceptional ones, and their 21″ cordless snow blower is no different.

Price: $399 for the bare tool, $599 for the 2x 5.0Ah kit, $799 for the 2x 7.5Ah kit

I posted a quick photo to Instagram after the first test back in January, when we had just a few inches on the ground. That was one extreme, with the next tests involving wet and heavy snow levels slightly beyond the Ego’s optimal capacity.

The question isn’t whether this is the best snow blower on the market, period, but whether it’s the best one in the $400 to $800 range. And to that I’m thinking the answer is YES. I wouldn’t trade this for a gas engine model, even if I didn’t mind the hassles of working with gas.

This bad boy can go a full clearing session – for me anyways – without really needing a recharge. I’d like to think that Ego is capable of a 2-stage unit – if Snow Joe can do it, surely Ego can too, right? – but at what tradeoff? Runtime? Ergonomics?

I mention this because I the Ego snow blower isn’t a do-all machine, but I’m enamored with it nonetheless. The last big snowfall measured 12″ or so, and in some parts (mainly the inclined driveaway areas) that was beyond what the Ego could comfortable clear up without me struggling and the machine bogging down a little.

The next time we get heavy snowfall, I’ll try to do some clearing in stages as it comes down. Or if not, I did just buy a SnoBoss which might help me quickly skim a few inches off the top of must-clear sections. Side note: in my initial test the SnoBoss could not handle anything but fresh clean snow.

23 Comments

We had a lot more snow than usual this last few years . I have a long driveway . I covet a John deere with a plow . Thanks for reviewing this snow blower . I know not everyone who reads your page sees a lot of snow

So if I’m reading that right, it didn’t have trouble until you reached a foot of the heavy stuff? But even then it was chute clogging issues, the machine still had the torque to throw the snow 10+ ft? If that’s right, that’s certainly a lot better than I thought possible with a battery powered machine.

I am puzzled by your observations on using the machine on a slope. With my single stage Honda, I use it going uphill because I can control it better. Downhill the machine runs away from me. This seems exactly the opposite of what you experienced, but I’m not sure why? Either way, it’s not something I would recommend for anyone with a sloped driveway. A two stage machine is much more controllable.

The difference is the rubber paddle on gas powered single stage snow throwers touches the ground so it pulls you along and cleans packed on snow right down to the pavement. The EGO’s paddle does not touch the ground – even when you tip up the front of the snow thrower.

That means you have to push the snow thrower. As Stuart found pushing it works well going down the slope but it’s extra work trying to push it up the driveway.

The front paddle not touching the ground is also why it left snow that was packed down.

By the way, I have the Snow Joe 2-stage and it throws snow really well – even the wet stuff from the last snow. It’s self-propelled but the 3-speed choices are all WAY TOO SLOW!

We’re expecting 18″ Tuesday, so I purchased the eGo today. I was unable to find it in any retail stores as it is end of season and the remaining few sold out quickly it seems. So I searched on Craigslist and found a number for sale in my area- all for 25-30% lower than retail. I found a reasonable seller about an hour from my house selling one, NIB. I paid $450 cash- looking forward to Tuesday as I believe it was an absolute steal at that price!

I live in Mn. I bought this back in Dec. I’ve only got to use it on one heavy 8-11 inch snowfall. This thing is a beast for battery powered. I’ve had no problems with it on my sloped driveway. Runtime is more then I expected with the 5.0ah batteries.

Plus you don’t always need it at full speed. It even does pretty well in under 4 inches. I usually shovel anything 3 or less, but this is light enough to grab, and starts instantly, and it even throws 3 inches or less decently.

I sure hope they’re working on a 2 stage style model, I’d buy a second one!

I too love cordless-the only gas equipment I have left is my lawn mower and snow-blower. I was eager to try this. However, the auger not touching the ground is a big problem for me. My single stage 208cc gas does and it helps pull it along. I have a 75ft single driveway and 200 ft of sidewalk (double lot on a corner). It had enough juice to do it, but constantly having to push, push, push to get through the snow-it was a major workout. It threw the snow fine-no problem there. But wow-it was a major pain pushing this thing. We’ve had over 100 inches of snow this winter (so far), so I’m glad I returned it.

I’m guessing they don’t let the auger touch the ground because it would just use too much battery power…

I have an Ariens machine – complete with handwarmers – sitting in the garage should one of my kids who is house-sitting need to use it. Otherwise my landscaping contractor will clear the driveway etc. when they get to it. Meanwhile – no snow where I winter in Sanibel – but I have been known to fly north at some inopportune times ( like just ahead of a blizzard) – and then need to dig myself out. The Ariens has drift cutters and extra front weights installed so it can handle deep snow better than I can – and I can at least cut me a path to the street – while I wait on the guys with the Bobcat.

So how are these batteries going to perform in -30C or colder? do they have a battery heating circuit to keep the voltage up? or a block heater like implement? As a Canadian im trying to take this seriously, but I can’t. We had a self propelled gasoline honda snowblower with tracks, and it started up every time, and would repeatedly blow snow taller than the snowblower was that was heavily packed on slow speed without bogging down in the slightest. Lasted over 10 years (my dad still has it). I can’t imagine that Li-ion batteries in a HEAVY drain scenario at sub-zero temperatures are going to last even close to that long, nor provide performance anywhere near that of the gas snowblower.

the snow joe blower you linked has 80v max 5Ah batteries. 80v MAX ~ 21 lithium ion batteries at 3.7v unloaded. Under load you would have 21x3v = 63V at 5Ah = 315 Watt hours x 2 batteries in parallel = 630 watt hours.
They claim the unit has a 2500W brushless motor. Assuming 100% efficiency (not realistic) the unit under full load would last for 15.12 minutes, also assuming that you can get full pow.er for the entire drain of the battery (not realistic). Thats also ignoring any voltage drop due to low ambient temperatures affecting the cell chemistry .

LOL i re-read the ad page and i missed one important detail – RUNTIME (MAX) =40 minutes. i basically calculated min runtime

Anyways, you have a great website Stuart, it has provided me with alot of enjoyment.

I’ve toyed with the idea of replacing my 5hp single-stage (Snapper brand) snow blower with a battery model but the runtime gets me. Like an earlier poster, I have a corner lot with around 200ft of sidewalk (250 if you include the walkway to the front door) and maybe 1200sqft of driveway and. It takes me 30-40 minutes to deal with a 7-8-inches of snow. Took well over an hour and two tanks of gas to clear a 15″ snowfall a couple years ago but those storms are rare for us.

I’ve looked at this in the past, but for me here in the Sierra Nevada area it wouldn’t handle the snow we often get. I do think it would work great for clearing of a deck during the day. I use my Honda with tracks to cleat the driveway in a pinch otherwise we use a contractor with a Cat loader with a blower on the front. Not uncommon to wake up to 2-3′ overnight. But in areas with less snow, no hills to deal with, or sidewalks you have to keep clear I can see something like this being great.

I have a corded snowblower i bought off Amazon. Big fan. The cord blows…yes…but it throws snow here in Wisconsin just fine. I think i’ve had around 40 inches this year and have used it the entire time. A cordless like this would obviously be a lot nicer without a stupid cord hanging in your way, but mine was like $100 on sale..so. I have a very large driveway and an outside outlet..so its easy to do with a long cord (cold weather cord or else they get rock hard).